The 95/5 Rule

Some marketing gurus talk about focusing on the 95% of your target market who aren't ready to buy.

A few days back, David Reed, ex-Head of Content at Gong, shared how focusing on the 95% helped Gong to grow.

But it's never 95% vs. 5%. It's 5% + 95%.

Why? You need to survive today to see tomorrow.

The 5% in-market segment helps you see another day. So, focus on the 95% only after gaining enough traction from people who are in-market today.

If brands want to invest in the 95%, they can emulate the Gong Lab series.

And before you get started, here's why the Gong Lab series was a success to begin with.

  1. Gong's data-driven sales insights were first of their kind as it shared raw insights into what influenced deal closures. It helped sales leaders to work and coach their team not based on theories, gut feel, or past experience, but data.
  2. The content was written by SMEs (ex-sales leaders) like Chris Orlob and Devin Reed. It made a huge difference in the kind of data points they covered and the way they presented them. Who knows salespeople better than a fellow sales guy.
  3. The content and the product were tightly coupled. Gong's content was a showcase of its core capability.

SMEs writing content that’s tightly coupled with their product is a killer combo.

Lastly, even Gong focused on the 5% by cold outreaching to target accounts through which they got their early customers.

So, it's 5% plus 95%. 

To learn more about Gong's early marketing strategy, check out how they hit their first million here.

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